The LA Dodgers blundered by dis-inviting and then re-inviting the viciously anti-Catholic Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI), whose very name ought to give away what they’re about (“indulge” what, exactly?), except to clueless sports executives. The resolution of the fiasco reminds me of how Reagan wiggled out of his 1985 mistake of agreeing to visit the Bitburg cemetery in West Germany, where unbeknownst to his advance team, SS troops were buried. Rather than give in to the braying hounds in the media, Reagan truncated the visit to the cemetery, stopping so briefly that the media didn’t have time to set up cameras.
The Dodgers emulated this strategy, having the SPI appear on the field more than an hour ahead of the first pitch, and there were less than 100 people in the stands, while a couple thousand protesters—and/or ticket holders for the game—remained outside the stadium.
This hasn’t gone down well with the gay press, which is spinning furiously in The Advocate:
Ron DeSantis Tweets Lie About L.A. Dodgers Pride Night
Protesters gathered outside Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles Friday night as the team prepared for its annual Pride Night, with the demonstrators objecting primarily to the presence of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Republican presidential hopeful and current governor of Florida Ron DeSantis even took to Twitter to make a bogus claim about the event.
Here’s the “bogus claim”:
What is “bogus” about this Tweet? The Advocate spins it this way:
Given Los Angeles’s notorious traffic, it’s common for fans to arrive late to games. The attendance Friday was 49,074, the Times notes, quoting the Baseball Reference website. Pride Nights have drawn both larger and smaller crowds, with the lowest being about 20,000 in 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic was still raging strongly, while crowds in some other years exceeded 50,000. The event has been held since 2013.
In other words, DeSantis was completely accurate in saying the stadium was virtually empty when SPI was recognized on the field, though off slightly in saying the stands were empty for the game itself.
Here’s the Twitter “community note” about the matter:
No mention that the Dodgers didn’t feature SPI around the time of first pitch when they usually honor special groups, or during the 7th inning stretch, or other times when the stadium might have some fans in the seats. Dodgers indeed.
I note the Dodgers lost 15 – 0 to the Giants on Pride night, apparently the worst shut-out loss at home to the Giants in their history. Not exactly a game to take pride in losing. Divine Providence?
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